Food insecurity may be affecting 2 million Marylanders, roughly a third of the population, as a result of the pandemic.

Carmen Del Guercio, president and CEO of the Maryland Food Bank, said demand for the food bank’s services has “probably never been higher in our history.”

“If you think back to March of ‘20, we got shot out of a cannon,” he said. “Demand went through the roof almost immediately.”

And Del Guerico said 68% of the food bank’s community partners tell him that demand may only grow in the coming months.

With high inflation, supply chain disruptions and COVID-19 variants, the recovery may be bumpy. Del Guercio said after the 2008 Great Recession, it took five to six years before demand went to pre-recession levels.